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What's the Matter With Democrats?

The party embraced globalization while its union allies were cut down.

By

Thomas Frank

Updated Feb. 24, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

It's no secret that the tea party faithful regard the Obama administration as a Constitution-shredding tyranny. But in a profile of the movement published last week, the New York Times reported the surprising news that many of the protesters have come to this view as a result of their experiences in the recession: "Their families upended by lost jobs, foreclosed homes and depleted retirement funds, they said they wanted to know why it happened and whom to blame."